Patent Application
20070187403
The present invention relates generally to containers and in particular to containers having slidable trays.
Containers such as metal tins are well known and generally are formed in two separable pieces, a body and a lid. The contents of the container are visible and accessible once the lid is removed, but to remove the contents, either the opening covered by the lid has to be large in comparison to the contents, such as is common with large, flat and round cookie tins, so the user can pick individual content pieces from the open tin, or else the container must be tipped or inverted to cause the contents to slide from the interior of the container due to the effects of gravity.
Sometimes a separate sleeve, such as a plastic or waxed paper bag is contained in the tin to separately hold the contents, and the bag itself may be grasped and withdrawn from the tin to provide access to the contents of the tin. Oftentimes the containers holding small items are arranged to be stored in a horizontal orientation such that they consume a relatively large shelf or counter space. Containers which are configured to be stored in a vertical orientation provide relatively small openings for removal of the contents of the container, making it difficult to remove the contents.
The present invention addresses and solves these problems.
The present invention provides a container with a removable tray which carries the contents of the container, such that when the tray is removed from the body of the container, the contents may be easily accessed from the tray. The elongated container is arranged such that it can be stored in an upright position, consuming minimal shelf space, and the contents can be removed with the container held in a horizontal position, to provide the easy access to the contents.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a container with an elongated body comprising an enclosing wall having a closed first end and an open second end, with an opening of the second end having a predetermined minimum lateral dimension. The container also includes a tray having an elongated at least partially enclosing wall with a lateral dimension less than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension of the body opening to allow the tray wall to be inserted into the open second end of the body. The tray has a cap at one end with a lateral dimension greater than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension of the body opening to prevent at least a portion of the cap from entering the open second end of the elongated body.
In an embodiment, the enclosing body wall extends a full extent of a circumference of the body and the enclosing tray wall extends less than a full extent of a circumference of the tray.
In an embodiment, the cap has a portion that is received in the opening of the second end of the elongated body, and a portion that is larger than the opening of the second end.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a container with an elongated body, and a tray. The body has an enclosing and surrounding elongated wall with a first end being open and a second end being closed. The tray has an elongated wall shaped complementary to a portion of the surrounding body wall, but has a circumferential extent less than that of the surrounding body wall, with an end wall at one end sized to be received in the body open end and a cap at an opposite end sized larger than the body open end.
In an embodiment, the elongated body wall comprises a circular cylindrical wall, and the closed end comprises an end wall secured to the circular cylindrical wall.
In an embodiment, the elongated tray wall comprises a semi-circular cylindrical wall.
In an embodiment, the tray end wall comprises a semi-circular flat wall secured to an end of the semi-circular cylindrical wall.
In an embodiment, the tray cap comprises a circular cylindrical shape secured to the semi-circular cylindrical wall.
In an embodiment, the elongated body wall comprises a non-circular perimeter.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a container with a circular cylindrical body having a closed first end and an open second end, with an opening of the second end having a predetermined diameter. The container also includes a tray having an elongated wall comprising at least a portion of a cylinder with a diameter less than the predetermined diameter and having a cap at one end with a lateral dimension greater than the predetermined diameter to prevent at least a portion of the cap from entering the open end of the cylindrical body.
In an embodiment, the elongated tray wall has a perimeter less than a full circle.
In an embodiment, the container may include a cover for the tray to selectively close off an open portion of the elongated tray wall.
These and other aspects and details of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the detailed description and a review of the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments of the present invention are described herein. The present invention is not intended to be limited to only these embodiments. Changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiments and yet fall within the scope of the present invention.
In an embodiment, as illustrated in
The container 20 also includes a tray 40 having an elongated and at least partially enclosing or surrounding wall 42 with a lateral dimension 44 less than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension 38 of the body opening 34 to allow the tray wall 42 to be inserted into the open second end 28 of the body 22. The tray has a cap 46 at one end 48 with a lateral dimension 50 greater than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension 38 of the body opening 34 to prevent at least a portion 51 of the cap 46 from entering the open second end 28 of the elongated body 22.
In an embodiment, as seen in
With this construction, the container 20 can be used to hold small items, for example, cookies or crackers, and can be stored in a vertical orientation, such that these items are arranged in a stack. When the container 20 is opened, by sliding the tray 40 out of the body 22, the container can be held in a horizontal orientation, and the enclosing tray wall 42 will support the items, yet its open side, running the full length of the tray, will permit easy access to the items so that they can be removed without hindrance.
In an embodiment, the cap 46 has a portion 52 that is received in the opening 34 of the second end 28 of the elongated body 22, and the portion 51 that is larger than the opening of the second end. This will permit a good snug fit for the cap 46 in the open end 28 of the body 22.
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, the tray 40 includes an end wall 56 which comprises a semi-circular flat wall secured to an end 58 of the semi-circular cylindrical wall 42.
In an embodiment, the tray cap 46 comprises a circular cylindrical shape secured to the semi-circular cylindrical wall 42. For example, a second end wall 60 may be secured to a second end 62 of the semi-circular wall 42 such as by crimping or other known attachment means, and the cap may be secured to the second end wall such as by rivets 64 or other known attachment means. As shown in the detail of
In an embodiment, as illustrated in
The container 120 also includes a tray 140 having an elongated and at least partially enclosing or surrounding wall 142 with a lateral dimension 144 less than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension 138 of the body opening 134 to allow the tray wall 142 to be inserted into the open second end 128 of the body 122. The tray has a cap 146 at one end 148 with a lateral dimension 150 greater than the predetermined minimal lateral dimension 138 of the body opening 134 to prevent at least a portion 151 of the cap 146 from entering the open second end 128 of the elongated body 122.
In the embodiment shown in
Thus, in the embodiment shown in
In an embodiment, the elongated tray wall 42 has a perimeter less than a full circle.
In an embodiment, as shown in
The present invention has been described utilizing particular embodiments. As will be evident to those skilled in the art, changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments and yet fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, various components could be utilized which are sized or configured differently than illustrated. In other embodiments, different attachment arrangements than those arrangements specifically shown and described could be used. The disclosed embodiments are provided only to illustrate aspects of the present invention and not in any way to limit the scope and coverage of the invention. The scope of the invention is therefore to be limited only by the appended claims.
As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding specification and description. It should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.
